Swimming coach AC Jairaj kept a low profile while his wonderfully talented trainee, Srihari Nataraj, stamped his presence on the inaugural Khelo India School Games with a six gold and one silver medal-haul at the iconic Dr Shyama Prasad Mookherjee Swimming Complex here. The profile was in stark contrast to the behind-the-scenes work each day.
At the end of the swimming competitions during which Srihari swam 14 races, it was clear that Jairaj had succeeded in ensuring that the right kind of tension kept them both going. More importantly, he made it evident that his athlete’s preparations for the Commonwealth Games were not affected despite the workload here.
It is the 200m backstroke that is the pair’s real focus since Srihari Nataraj will need to shave off a good four seconds and more to have a chance of making to the final in Gold Coast. “I am happy that he clocked a good time (56.80 seconds) in the 100m backstroke despite having to alter his start due to the slippery pads. I am sure he will do the nation proud,” Jairaj said.
“To be honest, we included the Khelo India School Games as part of Hari’s training ahead of the Commonwealth Games. So, the times he has clocked here are really training times rather than times we expect him to clock in competition,” said the coach, a retired Naval officer who represented Services in the National Championships in the prime of his youth.
Jairaj has a sharp eye for talent, having worked in honing talent in Bengaluru since 1996 when he moved after a four-year stint in his home State of Kerala. He has worked with a number of high quality swimmers who are based in the Garden City. “Hari is among five or seven elite swimmers who train in the Global Swim Centre,” he said.
The clear-thinking and lucid Jairaj has a solution for a problem that has seen few elite swimmers improve their performances despite training abroad. “I think it will help if Indian coaches who have worked with swimmers over a number of years accompany them during their training stints abroad,” he says, indicating that such a plan may already have been drafted for Srihari Nataraj.
“I must say that Hari is special talent but he needs to add some muscle to his frame and improve his left-hand entry for him to lower the times,” Jairaj said, pointing out that the areas in which the teenager must improve in order to get to the next level. “The good thing about him is that he is very focused and wants to win each time he dives into the pool.”
It is clear that Jairaj has been such a strong influence on Srihari Nataraj that onlookers point out that he could well be a doting grandfather and a strict father rolled in one. It is the work of such grass-roots coaches that speaks aloud through determined athletes like the teenaged swimmer from Bengaluru.